Johnson excited about Chamber and Tourism executive director role

For the past 20 years, Anne Johnson and her family have called Redwood Falls home, and the longer she lives in the community the fonder she becomes of it.

“I love Redwood Falls and I love the Redwood area,”?said Johnson. “The more involved I?get the more I?find I?love about the community.”

Getting involved in what is going on in the Redwood area is going to be taking up a lot more of Johnson’s time now, as she has taken on the role of executive director for the Redwood Area Chamber and Tourism Office. She officially started her new role July 16.
Troy Krause, Editor

For the past 20 years, Anne Johnson and her family have called Redwood Falls home, and the longer she lives in the community the fonder she becomes of it.
“I love Redwood Falls and I love the Redwood area,”?said Johnson. “The more involved I?get the more I?find I?love about the community.”
Getting involved in what is going on in the Redwood area is going to be taking up a lot more of Johnson’s time now, as she has taken on the role of executive director for the Redwood Area Chamber and Tourism Office. She officially started her new role July 16.
Johnson said she has found passion in working with others as they plan events, and she is excited about all of the things which go on in the area.
“From the time we moved here I?have been very impressed with how progressive this community is,” she said. “This is a very proactive community that has shown it is interested in continued growth of business.”
Johnson said she believes her role as executive director is multi-faceted, but in the end the role is about making great things happen in the area.
“This is a job that will allow me to do what I?love,”?said Johnson.
As executive director, Johnson said she is going to be balancing her time working with the businesses in the community to help them succeed as well as working to promote the area in an effort to convince outsiders that the Redwood area is a place worth visiting.
“The Chamber and tourism areas are very much entwined,”?she said, adding the value of getting people to come and see all the amenities this area has to offer is economic, as those who visit spend money in local businesses.
Johnson emphasized her role is to go beyond the boundaries of one city to work with and promote all of the Redwood area.
That means utilizing all of the area’s assets whether it is the economy, the scenery or even the people.
Johnson, who earned a teaching de-gree and was involved in education before opting to become a stay at home mom, said now that her kids are all full time in school she can get more involved in a role like the one she has accepted.
Johnson said her first weeks on the job have been a lot of fun, whether it was taking part in the Chamber ag golf event in Sanborn or visiting with people at the county fair.
Johnson also said it is important for her to capitalize on special events whether that is the anniversary of the Dakota Conflict or any of the many community festivals that take place throughout the area.
Johnson and her husband, Chad, have three children, Alexis, 14, Amanda, 12, and Cole, seven.
As part of a family, Johnson said she has seen firsthand the great things going on in the community, as she sees what a great education system is being offered to students and the phenomenal places one can visit.
“For me this job is all about doing whatever it takes to help the community grow,” she said.
Working with the Chamber and Tourism board, Johnson said she hopes to create a long-term strategic plan that helps the Redwood area see where it wants to be both in the immediate future as well as into the future.
“I?am a goal oriented person,” Johnson said. “I?am also a firm believer in the idea that anything is possible with good planning.”
Johnson said in the not-too-distant future she is going to begin meeting with current Chamber members to find out how the Chamber and Tourism office can better serve them, and she also plans on meeting with other prospective members to talk about the benefits of being part of the Chamber.
Johnson said she is just one member of a team that has the potential to do good things in the area, and she is looking forward to getting started.